Flower garden Design for Small Spaces

Big Ideas for Small Space Gardens

Last fall, I knew just how I wanted to brighten and heighten the shadows of a mountain laurel. Biding my time, I found the perfect subdued container at a winter sale, and in spring, landed a sparkler sedge Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’.
I’d planned to fill this spot with Salvia coccineas in May, but alas, soggy soil and being doggoned pooped ended that vision, at least this round. Native Salvia roemeriana, hummingbird-love Dicliptera suberecta and striking red billbergia are on their own for now.

For lightweight filler in the bottom of the container, I hit the dollar store and stuffed 1/3 or so with plastic kiddie toys. Plastic nursery pots are a super idea, but in a clean-up mission, I’d recycled/donated them. Viewers also suggested water or soda bottles. In larger containers, one cat mom recycles plastic litter containers, upside down.
Native Salvia coccinea peps up part shade where hummingbirds, butterflies and bees quickly find them. Morning sun is great, but do avoid direct-hit afternoon sun. Usually, they drop dead at the first frost but can generously re-seed.
Pollinators will find them just as quickly if you can only plant in containers.
These days, you’ve got lots of options for color and size. Find out more as Daphne’s Plant of the Week.
Questions about fungal disease are still #1. So, what’s going on with Craig Burnett’s chinkapin oak?
It’s possible, Daphne tells us, that there was a fungal infection of some sort earlier in the year (during all our rain and cool weather). As leaves develop, tissue surrounding the infection sites starts to die and turn brown. It’s also possible that the damage comes from herbicides or too much fertilizer. Find out more.